The Spectrum of Integrated Care

The Department of Health (1984) recommended that the development and establishment of multidisciplinary teams would be required to cater adequately to the needs of the mentally ill in the community. This innovative idea has shaped the current structure of working with individuals living with mental illness…not only treating the individual diagnosis, but also taking a person-centered approach.

The central aim of the Integrated Treatment Approach is to provide mental health care from a multidisciplinary team where: (1) the needs of the individual are identified and responded to accordingly (2) individuals are encouraged to be active participants in the treatment planning process (3} and care is planned, collaborative, and coordinated on a consistent basis.

There are several distinguishing concepts common to the Integrated Treatment Model, which include:

COORDINATION

Stepped Care

Clinicians and services are located at different sites

Each individual clinician has separate treatment plans

Routine exchanges of info between separate treatment providers

CO-LOCATION

Stepped Care

Central Location: Service specialties located in the same facility

Enhanced formal and informal communication (face-to-face, phone)

Consultations between differing specialists

INTEGRATION

Stepped Care

Central Location: All services are guided by the same treatment guidelines, systems, and principles of CNS